Life of Women Sanitation Workers in the City of Prayagraj: Mahakumbh in Perspective

*Corresponding Author: Deepshikha Upadhyay
Research Scholar,Department of Anthropology, University of Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh 211002
Email:  upadhyaydeepshikha36@gmail.com

KEYWORDS Oral hygiene, teeth blackening, Wancho tribe, traditional practices, cultural change

ABSTRACT
Objective: The purpose of this study is to investigate how urbanisation affects the everyday experiences, working conditions, and employment opportunities of women sanitation workers in Prayagraj, particularly in relation to the Mahakumbh. It investigates how the intersections of caste, gender, and economic hardship influence their experiences of employment, dignity, and social inclusion. 
Materials and Methods: The study uses an ethnographic methodology to investigate the everyday lives, working conditions, occupational hazards, and financial circumstances of women sanitation workers. The methodological foundation for understanding their experiences is based on Nancy Fraser’s theory of social justice, which emphasises redistribution, recognition, and representation.
Results: Economic instability, occupational vulnerability, cultural devaluation, restricted social recognition, and insufficient political representation are among the overlapping forms of marginalisation revealed by the data. Even if employment opportunities are created by urbanisation and major events like the Mahakumbh, these opportunities are nonetheless embedded in unfair social and occupational institutions. Inadequate financial security, dignity, respect, representation, and access to basic resources are still problems for women sanitation workers.
Discussion: The contradiction of urbanisation is illustrated by the experiences of women sanitation workers: cities generate employment opportunities while also perpetuating inequality that constrains the lives of marginalised people. Their experiences demonstrate how social justice and access to respectable employment are influenced by caste, gender, and class. By highlighting the voices and experiences of women whose labour remains essential to keeping cities clean during the Mahakumbh, the study contributes to anthropological discussions on caste, gender, labour, urban marginalisation, and social justice in modern India.

Deepshikha Upadhyay¹* and Prashant Khattri²

¹Research Scholar,Department of Anthropology, University of Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh 211002
²Associate Professor, Department of Anthropology, University of Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh 211002

DOI-DS:
DOI Link ::

Frontier Anthropology, 2026, 15: 49-55
©Anthropological Society of Manipur

Original Article

Manuscript Timeline
Submitted: April 9, 2026
Accepted: July 10, 2026
Published: August 20, 2026

Contact Us:

Department of Anthropology
Manipur University, Imphal
Manipur - 795003 (India)
Email: frontieranthropology@gmail.com